Monday, August 6, 2018

Sunshine, Author Biz, and Sweet '18 || July Recap

July, one of my favorite months of the year, is gone again. And it was a dandy, y'all. <3


|| Life. ||


>> I had a fabulous time celebrating the 4th of July with my family. We hung out at home and ate good food and the bro set off fireworks after dark. To my surprise, he had a pretty good show. ;)



>> I re-read my darling novella, Dandelion Dust, which debuted last June. I hadn't read it since the final proofread, so it was rather bittersweet. And I didn't cringe *too* much. ;)


>> I got a job dog-sitting for 3 days, then another—cat-sitting for 11 days. And I'm going to be dog-sitting for three weeks next month, so I'm basically a professional now... B-)



>> I watched lots of Signed Sealed Delivered during the month of July. xD I finally got around to seeing Road Less Traveled, followed by To the Altar. Then I started re-watching the entire series. Golly, I love these people. <3 I also completed my DVD collection of SSD. ;)


>> I received the largest book order I've ever placed! I'm participating in a local author book fair in September, so that should be fun. Prayers that all goes well would be appreciated! <3



>> Speaking of author-ish news, I did a few other things. I started a Facebook page, designed and purchased business cards, and created a website!



>> Another thing that happened in July, and a reason that it's one of my favorite months, is my birthday. I turned 18. For awhile before, I was a bit apprehensive about that seemingly-hunormous number. I mean, adulthood!? But, as a friend reminded me, it's just another season of life. It's a beginning; not an ending. <3



|| Books. ||


I read like 16 books this month, y'all, and acquired half that many... *heart eyes*

// Reads

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, WA by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss -- 4 stars
Almost Home by Wendy Lawton -- 4 stars
How I Had Fun Writing 10 Novels in 13 Months by Sarah Addison-Fox -- 4 stars
Finding Christmas Joy by Amanda Tero -- 4 stars -- Reviewed
The Missing Piece by Libby May -- 4 stars
Meet Marie-Grace by Sarah Masters Buckey -- 3 stars
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman -- 3 stars
Just Dance by Patricia MacLachlan -- 5 stars
Where Beauty Blooms by Victoria Lynn -- 4 stars
The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan -- 4 stars
Dandelion Dust by Faith Potts -- (I kinda love this little book.)
When Sparrows Fall by Diana Blackstone -- 5 stars
Early Sunday Morning by Barry Denenberg -- 4 stars
Happy Birthday, Josefina by Valerie Tripp -- 4 stars
Josefina Saves the Day by Valerie Tripp -- 4 stars
Changes for Josefina by Valerie Tripp -- 4 stars



I got several lovely books this month and only paid for two of them! ;) 

God in a God-forsaken Land by Gene Stark -- review book
Woman of Character compiled by Lawrence Krimbough -- gift
Emmeline by Sarah Holman -- gift from a friend 
I Don't Dance by Jesseca Wheaton -- gift from a friend 
Mere Hope by Jason Duesing -- review book
Keep Holding On by Melissa Tagg -- gift from a friend 
Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof -- CBD 
Max by Jennifer Li Shotz -- Barnes & Noble



|| Writing. ||


Writing actually went pretty well this month, all things considered. I was still participating in Go Teen Writers 100-for-100 challenge, I did Camp NaNo, and I finished the first draft of One Summer.


For Camp, my goal was to finish One Summer and finish the third draft of A Soldier's Freedom. I didn't get anywhere near finishing the editing side of my projects, but I'm okay with that. I've made good progress since then, and hoping to finish this week and get it sent off to betas.

If you want to read more about how Camp went or see snippets of my WIPs, check out the Camp NaNo updates that I did throughout the month! :D

Word count: 36,863



|| Blogging. ||

// Favorite Posts 

The Write Conversation ~ The Serendipity of Hope

RebekahAshleigh ~ Summer Book Recommendations

// My Posts 








|| Goals. ||

~ July Goals 

>> Read 8 books.      Nailed it!

>> Write 10,000 words.     YUSSS.

>> Finish another edit of A Soldier's Freedom + get it ready to send to betas.   Heh, not quite. xD

>> Finish writing One Summer.      Yup!

>> Post weekly on both blogs.       No...?


~ August Goals 

>> Read 8 books.

>> Finish editing A Soldier's Freedom.

>> Catch up on blog posts.

>> Start editing War Tears.

>> Go camping. *fingers crossed*

>> Complete a beta-reading project.



How was your July? Did you do Camp NaNo? Any plans for August? Are you a SSD fan?! 

Blessings, dears!
~Faith

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I bet that was fun and special to re-read “Dandelion Dust”! :)
    Wow, lots of pet-sitting going on with you! Okay, so do you prefer taking care of cats or dogs better? ;)
    Signed, Sealed, Delivered!! :D It’s just so good! Definitely a fan! ;D Yay, for completing you DVD collection of it! I have a ways to go before I do that… ;)
    Once again, I love the business cards. I checked out your Facebook page and website, very nice! <3
    Wow, you read so much! I read hardly anything. I feel like I read a lot, but I actually only read 3 books…
    Is that the cover for “One Summer”? It’s so beautiful! <3 =)
    Aww…thanks so much for mentioning my post! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. That video was a bit more difficult than the first one. ;)
    Can you believe that summer is coming to a close soon?! I just can't believe August is already here!

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    1. It was really special!! :D
      Haha, yup! Definitely dogs...I can play with them, but cats just want to brush up against my ankles and that kinda freaks me out... ;)
      Ahh, I love it so much!! ;D
      Thanks so much, girlie!! <3
      I did, but lots of the books were little, sooo... *wink* Hey, that's still great!! At least you were reading, which is more than a lot can say. ;D
      The cover for the first draft copy, yes. :D Isn't it?! <3
      I loved that video so much! I thought you did great. :D
      I honestly can't believe it!! It seems like just yesterday I was in Idaho... ;)

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  2. Wow! You have been busy! Loved this wrap up post! That's a lot of books you read this month... I really liked reading Love Finds You in Victory Heights Washington!
    Hope you have an AMAZING August! :D
    -Brooklyne

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Brooklyne! :D Ooh, you've read it too? That was a fun story!!
      You too, girl!! <3

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  3. Happy Birthday, Faith! Sounds like you had an amazing summer thus far!

    Is there a Web address for that author book fair? This sounds really neat!

    Congrats on your new website! Very fab!

    Oh! I love Wendy Lawton's Daughters of the Faith series! And Dear America books are always a win. Have you read the one about the Alamo? Heart breakingly good. And I want Max so bad! Maybe they still have them at walmart...

    Oh, War Tears, Yay! Glad to see it on the docket! I've had that book on my to buy list since...probably 2 or 3 years now?

    Our July was amazing and too full to document here;) I did a post on it a week ago, if you're interested;) I did try out camp nano, and did not make it, but I did get 103 pages edited of my 150 goal and I identified several problems that were holding me back, so for me, that's a win!

    Hope you have a fabulous August!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ryana! :)

      Not really, although there is a few details on the library's e-calendar. (I don't want to post the URL here for the sake of privacy, but if you're interested, I can email it to you. :))

      Thanks so much! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. xD

      I haven't read the entire series, but the ones I have read have been fabulous! I'm actually reading The Hallelujah Lass right now. ;D Definitely! I haven't read the Alamo one, but I'll have to check it out sometime! Max sounds so good...I'll probably cry through it though.... :P

      Aww, that means so much! I'm hoping for a winter/spring release, but nothing is definite yet...it's still got a long ways to go. ;)

      Oh, I'll certainly check it out! That is absolutely a win, girl! Congrats! :D

      You too, dear! <3

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    2. Yes, please email it to me;) Thank you!

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  4. Your business cards look so fancy :P And congrats on turning 18! You'll rock it I know ;)
    Sounds like it was a fun July!

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    Replies
    1. Hehe. ;) Thanks so much, Ashley!! Have a fabulous August <3

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